How many have lost it ALL?

I have been a working poor dem for so many years. I have averaged $15K/yearly and have no investments or savings. I read another thread where so many have done everything right, BUT now have lost it all.We are a great cross-section of the country. I'm curious how many had it all and have now lost it. multiple answers are OK!

my dad just mmoved out today to go live with his brother in Raleigh. He thinks he can find work there...

Almost lost our house a couple of weeks ago, pension went out the window as soon as I lost my job, parents helping us out, medical bills stacking up because of illness in family, credit cards not paid, and the lists keeps growing.

Hooray!

but my employer is no longer contributing to it due to financial difficulties which are at least partially due to the budget problems many states are facing. IN addition, I'm sure there are going to be cutbacks in my health coverage, meaning less coverage, and higher deductibles and co-pays, amd possibly the elimination of eye care and dental. Fortunately, I have marketable skills, and I doubt I would find myself unemployed or underemployed for any long period of time.

many years and retired with a good(union)pension. Never had to save for retirement, but I did. Thank God for unions and FDR.

One brother in law and his wife are retiring and they worked for years in a Community College in an area that doesn't really support education.

My other borther in law is retiring at the end of the year. He works in the motion picture industry. Powerful unions there.

It all went down the drain, and I filed bankruptcy last year. I'm barely hanging on now.

I just checked my mail for the first time in two months, and, BOY, do I have to make some modifications for the next 3 to 4 months. I never really kept track of all the donations for the political and "people help" charities as they had mounted up.

Part of the price, I guess! I don't regret it!

:kick:

what little I had, after the divorce. I started over. But I was young enough (early 30's) to start over, so things have worked out, more or less.

i lost 700k daytrading shhhh dont tell anyone -- stopped at 400 and started gamblers anonymous---could have bought a house,given to charity,saved for what is coming our way---what are you gonna do

but my Stock Portfolio is gone, my savings are gone and I'm on the verge of filing Chapter 7. All because of the Bush economic miracle.

We sold our house, spent our entire savings, and eventually filed Chapter 7 because my husband lost his job and it took him quite a while to find another - and the one he finally got paid 40% less than the last one.

I am so tired of people seeking to make profit from my misfortune.

Burning down the house under construction would provide a brief defiance to being eaten alive.

because I no longer have a credit card!

And that's only because I managed to hang on at the slimeball company I worked for in Atlanta long enough to become fully vested (before I was downsized). Problem is, like Social Security, I can't tap into it for several more years -- by which time, who knows if EITHER of them will still exist.

My mother always told me that "God never throws anything at you that you can't handle." That may be true, but it sure seems that God is really playing hardball these days...

everything I owned fit into a backpack, and I was homeless from 1981 when I lost the house to 1986, not all of the time was spent on the street, most of the time it was from friend to friend to different family members, but, it sucked big time.
Now that I've finally got something I'm afraid of loding it all again, this time though I don't think I can sustain myself.

student and part-time instructor, 1/3 as an untenured college professor, and 1/3 as a free-lance translator.

I assume I'll have to keep working for the rest of my life, SS or no SS, although I'm lucky in that I can keep doing this job as long as my brain holds out.

I can't claim to have done everything right, but at age 50 I'm less financially secure than I've ever been before and can barely pay the finance charges on my debt. It's a scary place to be.

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thanks for rubbing our noses in it.
So, just out of curiosity, how did you buy the stocks you made the money on?
You smell like a troll to me, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

I've been reading his posts and he's obviously a disruptor.

I hate these kind of posts. I know someone who is very well off, drives a Lexus, big diamond ring, nice house, own business, etc.

This woman volunteers at a homeless shelter and you'd be surprised at who becomes homeless. The one thing she's told me is it can happen to anyone, all it takes is one bad choice, one error in judgement, one medical catastrophe. I'd knock on wood.

Pulled yourself up by your bootstraps, did ya?

Do you realize that one single simple twist of fate could take EVERYTHING?

I still can't believe, that at this stag in my life, I'd be in such bad shape. I thought by the age of 56, we'd be secure and set for retirement. But the way it looks now, we'll be working until we die.

We're holding on to the house, if nothing else gets paid, the mortgage gets paid. Everything else is backing up though. If my husband didn't work, I don't know where we would be.

The wolfs are at the door.

Sudie in MN

Lost Health Care, Almost homeless.

Unemployed 53 months now.

Is that enough?

Despite
2 college degrees
Honorably discharged naval officer
commercial pilots license
15 + years of professional work experience

I was laid off by fortune 500 company during Raygun. 

Fortunately we had the ability to buy a small dry cleaners.

Unfortunately my wife died in '84. 

Unfortunately the property we were leasing was purchased by BIG SHOT re puke.

Unfortunately he decided to put a fish market in the strip mall where we were located.

Unfortunately the next door pharmacist didn't tell me that he had signed an agreement to expand his pharmacy into my shop.

Unfortunately this information was "leaked" to me customers; which I lost.

Fortunately there were bankruptcy rules.

Ironically, the anchor store (a large grocery store) closed.

Ironically, the pharmacy went out of business.

Ironically, the BIG SHOT re puke was investigated for fraud against the government.

Unfortunately he is still in business.

Fortunately I am OK.

and with it, most of my life. It's chronic, not life threatening, and I have gone into partial remission once before.

I never made enough to have a house or stocks or any sort of investments or savings.

However, over the last 13 years I've lost my job, my 3 years of university, my beloved pets (horse and 2 parrots), friends, hobbies, ability to exercise, my mum (not that my illness had anything to do with it, a huge loss nonetheless) and any earning power (disability pays crap), self confidence has been eroded...not to mention my freedom and independence (being mostly housebound).

However, I did gain a bit of weight, a student loan debt, and on the bright side, closer family ties and a life partner. At least I have free health care, and my prescriptions are covered, and I'm not starving.

I could be much worse off, like sick and homeless. :-(